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Abstract
Liquid crystal trimers consisting of a laterally attached terphenyl in the center and two terminally attached mesogenic groups at both ends have been synthesized. The thermal and phase behavior of these trimers were studied using DSC and polarized light microscopy methods. It is shown that incorporating laterally attached terphenyl rods into these trimers does not eliminate liquid crystallinity although it destabilizes the mesophase to some extent. In addition, increasing the length of the terminally attached rods results in a more stable mesophase. It is concluded that in the nematic phase the laterally attached rods are forced to orient in the nematic field direction of the terminally attached rods.